But visitors to the nondescript Balestier Complex are in for a surprise. Amid the food joints is a bustling Indian-themed nightclub, Jeanz Live. The club, on the first level next to a gaming centre and several dingy watering holes that attract the less fashionable, stands out effortlessly with its hip party crowd.

Jeanz Live features a modern contemporary interior accentuated by revolving disco lights and is among several heartland nightspots offering an alternative nightlife scene.

Unlike big-name clubs downtown, they feature Indian music and dangdut - popular Indonesian bands - and some social dancing nights.

Once the haunt of babyboomers in their 50s and 60s, such nightspots are seeing an increase in the number of partygoers in their 30s.

Take Jeanz Live. From midnight, people mainly in their 20s and 30s start streaming in. The main attraction is a 10-piece resident band from Chennai, India, that plays Tamil and Bollywood hits.

It comprises four singers, two keyboardists, a bassist, a drummer and a percussionist, with 55-year-old Anand Amalnathan as the band leader.

Partygoer James S., a 28-year-old sales executive, says: 'Although the club is off the beaten track, the party vibe is fun and unpretentious. It's a good change from the mainstream club scene in town.'

Over at Jest D'Place in Choa Chu Kang Centre, young and old partygoers jive to pop-inspired and nostalgic dangdut music by the six-piece Kalahari band from Singapore every Friday.

Nostalgia is also big at Scarlet City in AMK Hub in Ang Mo Kio, where you can cha-cha, rhumba and swing to Mandarin and Hokkien songs performed by five Chinese singers in a minus-one set.

Jeanz Live operations manager George Matthew says the club moved to Balestier Complex due to the intense competition among Indian-themed clubs in Circular Road. And to draw young working adults, it raised the age limit from 18 to 23.

Band leader Anand, who has been performing in Singapore for 18 years, says: 'In the 1990s, the band played an equal mix of old and new songs. Now the younger crowd prefers to listen to recent hits such as Vaada Vaada Paiya and Kacheri Kacheri. My band members change into different outfits during the sets, which we didn't do before.'

And it is the repertoire and musical arrangement that is also drawing the younger set to Jest D'Place. Its Dangdut Night on Fridays is a popular draw.

Kalahari band leader Roseli Mahmood says: 'Besides dangdut, we also play a mix of English ballads and rock numbers from Deep Purple. This way, it appeals to both the young and old.'

Kalahari have been on the music scene since 1988. Roseli, 44, adds: 'Younger people prefer the new dangdut songs as they have rock, samba and salsa influences, such as the song Goyang Inul by Indonesian artist Inul Daratista.'

These days, partygoers are heading to Scarlet City to show off their dance moves since their former hangout, Happy Days nightspot in Bishan Street 13, moved to Princess Theatre Building in Bedok last year.

The move saw Happy Days morph from a social dance venue to a chill-out pub and wine bar.

Scarlet City club manager Zann Sulaiman says: 'The weekends draw about 200 people a night and a large percentage are former Happy Days patrons.'

The 47-year-old, who ran Happy Days in Bishan for seven years, adds: 'The profiles of customers have also changed as Scarlet City now draws 30 per cent of those in their 30s, many of whom are new walk-in customers.'

In a sign of the times, she adds: 'We used to see many customers in their 60s. Now, most of our patrons are in their 40s and 50s.'

On the dance floor that day, 51-year-old retail assistant Christina Quek is showing off her flamboyant moves. She is dressed in a pretty, low-cut blouse and a short skirt.

She says her 54-year-old husband, an assistant engineer, is an introvert who prefers to spend time on the computer at home. They have two children.

Her dance partner is family friend, Mr Moses Quek, 54, who works at the National Parks Board.

Madam Quek, who has been dancing for nine years, jokes: 'I was among the youngest when I first danced in Happy Days. I still feel youthful and energetic. Dancing has kept me fit and trim.'

Asked if she feels she is upstaged by younger dancers, the grandmother of two says: 'I have just as much stamina. I can boogie up to two hours on the dancefloor each time.'

What: Dangdut band, Kalahari, play on Fridays. Various Chinese acts perform Mandarin and Hokkien hits on Saturdays and Sundays, and from Tuesdays to Thursdays

Entry: Pay for first drink at the door

Opens: Tuesdays to Thursdays, and Sundays (6pm to 1am), Fridays and Saturdays (6pm to 3am), closed on Mondays

Nearest MRT: Choa Chu Kang

SCARLET CITY

Where: AMK Hub, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, 04-02, tel: 6582-4145

What: Chinese acts perform throughout the week: Nostalgic hits on Mondays, Chinese love songs on Tuesdays, Mandopop night on Wednesdays, Canto night on Thursdays, Popular Top 40s hits on Fridays, and social dancing on Saturdays and Sundays

Entry: Pay for first drink at the door

Opens: Daily, Sundays to Fridays (6pm to 2am) and Saturdays (6pm to 3am). Karaoke rooms open at 2pm

Nearest MRT: Ang Mo Kio

JEANZ LIVE

Where: Balestier Complex, 262 Balestier Road, 01-17, tel: 6256-6569

What: A 10-piece live band from India plays Tamil and Bollywood hits. A DJ spins between live sets

Entry: $30 (women) and $35 (men) on Fridays and Saturdays. Women get free entry and drinks on Wednesdays, men pay $35. Free entry on other days. Cover charge includes one drink

Opens: Daily, Sundays to Fridays (9pm to 3am) and Saturdays (9pm to 4am)

Nearest MRT: Novena. Walk to the bus stop at Revival Centre Church in Moulmein Road and take bus number 124. Alight at Balestier Towers and walk to Balestier Complex

But visitors to the nondescript Balestier Complex are in for a surprise. Amid the food joints is a bustling Indian-themed nightclub, Jeanz Live. The club, on the first level next to a gaming centre and several dingy watering holes that attract the less fashionable, stands out effortlessly with its hip party crowd.

Jeanz Live features a modern contemporary interior accentuated by revolving disco lights and is among several heartland nightspots offering an alternative nightlife scene.

Unlike big-name clubs downtown, they feature Indian music and dangdut - popular Indonesian bands - and some social dancing nights.

Once the haunt of babyboomers in their 50s and 60s, such nightspots are seeing an increase in the number of partygoers in their 30s.

Take Jeanz Live. From midnight, people mainly in their 20s and 30s start streaming in. The main attraction is a 10-piece resident band from Chennai, India, that plays Tamil and Bollywood hits.

It comprises four singers, two keyboardists, a bassist, a drummer and a percussionist, with 55-year-old Anand Amalnathan as the band leader.

Partygoer James S., a 28-year-old sales executive, says: 'Although the club is off the beaten track, the party vibe is fun and unpretentious. It's a good change from the mainstream club scene in town.'

Over at Jest D'Place in Choa Chu Kang Centre, young and old partygoers jive to pop-inspired and nostalgic dangdut music by the six-piece Kalahari band from Singapore every Friday.

Nostalgia is also big at Scarlet City in AMK Hub in Ang Mo Kio, where you can cha-cha, rhumba and swing to Mandarin and Hokkien songs performed by five Chinese singers in a minus-one set.

Jeanz Live operations manager George Matthew says the club moved to Balestier Complex due to the intense competition among Indian-themed clubs in Circular Road. And to draw young working adults, it raised the age limit from 18 to 23.

Band leader Anand, who has been performing in Singapore for 18 years, says: 'In the 1990s, the band played an equal mix of old and new songs. Now the younger crowd prefers to listen to recent hits such as Vaada Vaada Paiya and Kacheri Kacheri. My band members change into different outfits during the sets, which we didn't do before.'

And it is the repertoire and musical arrangement that is also drawing the younger set to Jest D'Place. Its Dangdut Night on Fridays is a popular draw.

Kalahari band leader Roseli Mahmood says: 'Besides dangdut, we also play a mix of English ballads and rock numbers from Deep Purple. This way, it appeals to both the young and old.'

Kalahari have been on the music scene since 1988. Roseli, 44, adds: 'Younger people prefer the new dangdut songs as they have rock, samba and salsa influences, such as the song Goyang Inul by Indonesian artist Inul Daratista.'

These days, partygoers are heading to Scarlet City to show off their dance moves since their former hangout, Happy Days nightspot in Bishan Street 13, moved to Princess Theatre Building in Bedok last year.

The move saw Happy Days morph from a social dance venue to a chill-out pub and wine bar.

Scarlet City club manager Zann Sulaiman says: 'The weekends draw about 200 people a night and a large percentage are former Happy Days patrons.'

The 47-year-old, who ran Happy Days in Bishan for seven years, adds: 'The profiles of customers have also changed as Scarlet City now draws 30 per cent of those in their 30s, many of whom are new walk-in customers.'

In a sign of the times, she adds: 'We used to see many customers in their 60s. Now, most of our patrons are in their 40s and 50s.'

On the dance floor that day, 51-year-old retail assistant Christina Quek is showing off her flamboyant moves. She is dressed in a pretty, low-cut blouse and a short skirt.

She says her 54-year-old husband, an assistant engineer, is an introvert who prefers to spend time on the computer at home. They have two children.

Her dance partner is family friend, Mr Moses Quek, 54, who works at the National Parks Board.

Madam Quek, who has been dancing for nine years, jokes: 'I was among the youngest when I first danced in Happy Days. I still feel youthful and energetic. Dancing has kept me fit and trim.'

Asked if she feels she is upstaged by younger dancers, the grandmother of two says: 'I have just as much stamina. I can boogie up to two hours on the dancefloor each time.'

What: Dangdut band, Kalahari, play on Fridays. Various Chinese acts perform Mandarin and Hokkien hits on Saturdays and Sundays, and from Tuesdays to Thursdays

Entry: Pay for first drink at the door

Opens: Tuesdays to Thursdays, and Sundays (6pm to 1am), Fridays and Saturdays (6pm to 3am), closed on Mondays

Nearest MRT: Choa Chu Kang

SCARLET CITY

Where: AMK Hub, Ang Mo Kio Avenue 3, 04-02, tel: 6582-4145

What: Chinese acts perform throughout the week: Nostalgic hits on Mondays, Chinese love songs on Tuesdays, Mandopop night on Wednesdays, Canto night on Thursdays, Popular Top 40s hits on Fridays, and social dancing on Saturdays and Sundays

Entry: Pay for first drink at the door

Opens: Daily, Sundays to Fridays (6pm to 2am) and Saturdays (6pm to 3am). Karaoke rooms open at 2pm

Nearest MRT: Ang Mo Kio

JEANZ LIVE

Where: Balestier Complex, 262 Balestier Road, 01-17, tel: 6256-6569

What: A 10-piece live band from India plays Tamil and Bollywood hits. A DJ spins between live sets

Entry: $30 (women) and $35 (men) on Fridays and Saturdays. Women get free entry and drinks on Wednesdays, men pay $35. Free entry on other days. Cover charge includes one drink

Opens: Daily, Sundays to Fridays (9pm to 3am) and Saturdays (9pm to 4am)

Nearest MRT: Novena. Walk to the bus stop at Revival Centre Church in Moulmein Road and take bus number 124. Alight at Balestier Towers and walk to Balestier Complex